politics

  • One week until Election Day

     

    On Election Night 2016, I went to bed assuming, like so many other people, that when I woke the next morning Hillary Clinton would be the president elect. After one of my half-dozen or so overnight bathroom trips (after all, I was in my third trimester of pregnancy with JB), I checked the news app on my phone. A live video began playing, and I distinctly remember hearing Chuck Todd say, “We better get used to saying ‘President Donald Trump’.” I threw my phone down and woke up my husband.

    “Trump won. How are we going to raise a son in this world? What are we going to do?” I screamed.

    I wonder how much more scared I would have been for my unborn son if I had known at the time that he had a rare genetic syndrome.

    While health care, education, and social services are important to all Americans, they are especially so for the disabled community, and for families of children with complex medical needs. We are fortunate to live in a state with some of the best disability resources in the nation. In addition, we have the safety net of an incredibly generous family who helps in any way they can. If we didn’t have either of these advantages, I honestly do not know what we would do right now.

    I’d love to tell you right now that “It doesn’t matter who you vote for, just vote!” Guess what, though? It does matter.

    Here’s a recent article from Complex Child magazine comparing the disability platforms of Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Please read it, and learn more about where each candidate stands on the issues most impacting families like ours, and kids like JB.

    You’ll notice that for most categories it says, “Trump currently has no published plan.” In addition, while Biden’s campaign website has an entire disability platform section, Trump has none. Biden’s website mentions disability 132 times (as of October 2), while Trump’s mentioned disability only 19 times.

    If over the next few days you encounter someone spreading misrepresentations of candidates’ views, please consider taking the next step and sharing this information.

    In summary: Please vote for the candidate with a clear plan for addressing the needs of the disabled community and their families. If I’ve learned anything as JB’s mom, it’s that kids with complex medical needs are fighters. We can join in fighting for their rights with informed voting in this presidential election.

    (Image credit: Canva)

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